I heart opp shopping!!!

Okay so I have confessed! I love thrift/opp/antique/vintage shops....so many treasures to find if you find some good shops and have the patience to sift through the racks.

There is always many a bargain to be found and I usually have the nack to do just that :)

Don't get me wrong I don't buy stained,thinning, faded clothes....and nor do I look at the underwear, nightwear and oh so wrong parts of the opp shop world...I only buy the good ones and in return save huge amounts of money in the process and come out with really awesome quality stuff. So good, especially when kids grow out of clothes so damn quick.

Note: always always wash before use!

I went to one opp shop yesterday with the kids and ventured out again today when Andy got home to go to another and I found some gems!!

Here are our treasures from yesterdays shopping trip-

not a very great photo but....green 3/4 skirt for mummy ($5.00),green shirt with poka dots for mummy originally from crossroads ($5.00), Pink top for mummy with purple flowers originally from cotton on ($5.00), cute light green shirt for Thalia with embroidery ($3.00), brown shirt with car design for Declan ($4.00), Pink pants for Thalia with flower embroidery ($2.00), orange pumpkin patch pants for Thalia ($3.00), Pink and white floral summer dress for Thalia from Target ($3.00) and white pillow case with floral embroidery (50 cents).

Total of 9 items coming to $30.50!!!! mummy does a happy dance :)

My fave item would have to be Thalia's dress pictured below
Here is Thalia wearing it after washing it


Below is a close up of the embroidery on the 50 cent pillow case...I won't be using it as a pillow case but hope to make something out of it,not sure what yet.

Now for today's shopping bargains...

The large patterned fabric underneath the clothes is a double quilt (cotton) and only cost me $9.00. I have big plans for it, will be chopping it up and using bits and pieces for crafty goodness :D..such a find!!!

Found a lovely light green polo shirt with car design on front for Declan for $4.00, denim dress for Thalia with lady bugs for $3.50, another denim dress with flowers on it and frilly denim bits for $4.50 and a brand new (tag still on) blue shirt from the little miss shop retailed at $39.95 and I got it for $9.95..YAY

another great day coming out at a total of $35.45 :)

I think the quilt warrants it's own photo so here is a closer look

love it, love it, love it!!!....and don't be forgetting that as it's a quilt cover I have the underside of the quilt to play with too....arhhh my heads just bursting with ideas.

So you know you want to...go find your local opp shop and start hunting for your own gems and feel good about you purse and feel trendy at the same time :)

A week full of sickness,Party fun, cubby house's,new food and craftiness

well here I am typing from what has been of late the house of snot, sneezes and coughing......a week at home with a household of sickness isn't the best but we had a good go and making it a good one.

Andy as per usual had 'the dreaded cold' only for a 24 hr period unlike Declan and myself who have shared many snotty cuddles and nose blowing moments.Declan has become quite attached to "hanky"- he was given a couple of children's hankies from Great Grandma for Christmas and they have become like best friends this week, going to bed with Declan and being very loved.

Thalia as usual has been her usual moody self minus the sickness but in the last few days the nose has started to run and I fear she is cursed to share our despair :(

Declan and I are on the mend *touch wood* and although we have the odd cough or wipe of the nose we are hoping to get out and about more in this coming week!!!

To fill in our at home time Declan seemed to think it was a grand idea to spontaneously organise parties every say 3-4 times a day...lol....no really he found where mummy had stashed some party hats in the cupboard and decided he would take them out when he pleased and announced with great excitement "PARTY TIME!!!"
Yes it was party hats all round, not just for Declan but for every toy he deemed appropriate as well as Mummy, Daddy and Thalia :)
Then when it came to a time where he thought fit he suddenly announce "ALL DONE PARTY" and rush round collecting all the hats and packing them up....too cute.

here is a photo from one of the many parties Declan attended this week:

another activity we spent many hrs doing was cubby building.....a hard task when you are trying to build with a 1 yr old present who enjoys pulling the colourful bits apart and a 2 1/2 yr old who suddenly starts singing "there's a house with a floor, with a floor, with a floor....." (anyone familiar with this song would know that it ends in a crash....and "there's no house anymore" :s

We did end up making a house despite all this and the finished product was much loved complete with a door and all!!! which adds to Declan's new found skill of opening his bedroom door.

Our new food for the week was dragon fruit, from our own backyard it grew and we were eager to for ripening time to see what this fruit was all about.

It looks pretty awesome on the outside but on cutting it I was shocked, it almost looked fake...a white grey blob of jelly with black dotty seeds everywhere (pictured below)

it didn't look very appetising but we gave it a go....Daddy thought it was okay (somewhere between the taste of a kiwi fruit and figs), Mummy thought it was okay ( a tad bland needing to be eaten with other fruits), Thalia gobbled it up and had very strange poos the next day and Declan although very excited that it was something to do with dragons..smelt it, licked it tasted a nibble and discarded it.
I am yet to google dragon fruit and see what to do with them recipe wise etc.


The next thing on Mummy's agenda for the week was a spotlight shopping trip (always welcome :D) to get some materials for making Thalia's very own hair clip holder.
Thanks to Be a fun Mum for the inspiration, Amanda for reminding me when she posted Bianca's gorgeous clip holder on fb and Pretty things distract me for the beginnings of Thalia's hair clip collection :)

So here is the result to be either hung on the wall or displayed on her bookshelf in Thalia's room



The background is a floral material, covered in a weave of pretty pink ribbon on which the clips will be clipped..lol...framed in a purple frame (even though it looks a bit blue in the pic)
and hot pink buttons for cuteness.
Yesterday we enjoyed a visit to Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma and Uncle Dave as well as the family dogs Jodie and Kayla. Thalia was thrilled with the dogs and loved playing pegs while Declan bounced with Grandpa on the little trampoline and terrorised Jodie (Dog) by chasing her, or should I say hunting her down wherever she went.....we were forever hearing "COME BACK JODIE!!!"...needless to say I think Jodie would have had a big fat sleep last night.
Jodie soaking up all the attention:

Grandma.Grandpa and the peg Lady


The peg footed Thalia :P



Grandpa and Declan having a bounce!

so that was our week! onwards we go to hopefully enjoy a week of happy healthy times *fingers crossed*

Boobie milk memory's- Gods great gift

This post captures one of the very awesome gift God has given to Mothers world wide...the gift of boobie milk!!!
There is nothing quite like the bond between Mummy and bubba during that special time, that tinny being relying on the milky goodness you yourself have created....and through Gods amazing set up it's all that baby needs to remain strong, healthy and happy :)



The last few days have been a bit on the emotional side for me as a Mummy, I have successfully fed both my baby's with 'human milk' for 12 months or there abouts and loved it, as did they but Thalia no longer has boobie feeds.
It is a bitter sweet moment for me, I know I have done the right thing in feeding them all this time and support breastfeeding for all Mothers...why give little human baby's anything other than 'human milk' for their first years...a calf drinks 'cow milk',a piglet -pigs milk and so on.
It's just harder to wean this time around knowing that I might never breastfeed again unless we have another bubba in the future.

My beginning of the breastfeeding journey was a sore one...

Declan was born on the 19th July 2007 and after a shower birth in my hospital birthing suite I retired to the bed to have our first breastfeed...I must admit I hadn't done to much research on breastfeeding, I don't know why, I just guess I thought it would be pretty straight forward, easy latching and away we go (lol how naive was I!!).

The midwife came and helped him latch on and our first feed was a good one (1/2 hr of examining and being in awe of this tinny being in my arms...felt so right).

Declan and Mummy enjoying some quiet time having the very first breastfeed after the roller coaster ride with a ring of fire exit

The next few days we both had a bit of trouble latching on and getting all the bits right :D

Mummy got quite sore with a bit of bleeding but we got there!!! by the time we left the hospital I felt confident, my milk was beginning to come in and my boobs were tripling in size!!!! (o)(o) :O

Within the first month the first wave of mastitis came and the ouchies began.

Luckily I realised quite soon what was happening as I had seen a friend go though Mastitis only a year prior, so was fairly familiar with the symptoms.

After a frantic call to a close friend I decided that it had hit so suddenly no massaging, hot showers, expressing and stripping boobs was going to help much so to the Dr we went.

I was put on antibiotics and continued to cringe during feeds with the pain....there was no way I was giving up breastfeeding my baby!!

We slipped back into nice relaxing feeds and comfy boobs, but throughout Declan's breastfeeding days we battled 3 more mastitis monsters and fought the fight in all cases before needing a Dr.....thanks to the support of my friends and the help of the lovely ladies at the ABA.

I fell pregnant with baby # 2 when declan was 9 months and continued to bf through the first trimester to reach our 12 month bfing goal.....by 11 1/2 months my boobs were going through so many changes and every time Declan latched on it nearly made mummy yelp :o.

I thought about it for a long time and decided that we would say goodbye to the (.)(.)'s and pack them away after a precious 11 1/2 months.....it was close enough to 12 months for me to be happy and Declan wasn't that interested in boobie by then after all (probably due to my milk taste changing due to pregnancy).

So Declan went onto cows milk after having the remainder expressed milk via sippy cups.

I did feel sad giving it up but I know it was the right decision, the little blighter didn't even flinch when the boobies disappeared as if nothing had changed :(

That gave me some reassurance that Declan was truly ready ,as where my boobies so it was a job well done all round.:D

this is a statue I admire of a Mother with her children.

I would like to acknowledge those Mothers who tandem feed and say Good on you!!!! wow amazing women and much admired.

After the inevitable deflating of the boobies after Declan began to wean, it was nice to see them growing and beginning to ripen as baby #2's due date came closer.....anyone who knows me would know if you take breastfeeding and pregnancy out of the picture Shell is just about flat :(

The day came and Thalia just couldn't wait, she plunged into this world a day early and made her dramatic exit greeting us with screams and a screwed up face :) thus screaming, squealing and all things loud became her motto.

The 2 midwifes that were attending to me during labour checked Thalia and myself and quickly went to the birthing suite across the hall to attend to the 'screaming one' who was shouting out "I CAN'T DO IT!!! GET IT OUT ALREADY!!!" mmm

this left Daddy, Mummy and a hungry bubba with nothing else to do but attempt the first feed :)

I felt good to not have midwifes prodding around trying to show me how it's done.....and although I had some confidence and the experience of a good bfing journey I was scared, not knowing what to expect, anxious and ready to learn all over again.....waiting for the sore boobs, latching trouble etc

the funny thing was as soon a Mummy got the gear out Thalia wasn't being told what to do thank you very much, she was a pro!!! She latched straight away with no probs without Mummies help and sucked for dear life.....that girl was hungry!!! I was shocked , amazed and excited.

Thalia's first feed:

eyes on the prize!!! :D

The midwifes came back to 'show me the ropes' to see us in the middle of our first feed...happy with how it was going they congratulated us and went on their way :D

Thalia seemed as though she had done a degree in feeding at womb school and got top marks, but in saying that she took it a bit far.

She though it would be a good idea to use Mummy as a dummy for sleep time for a while until Mummy twigged on and needed a sleep too.

Our journey together had begun :) the mastitis monster made a slight appearance in the first few months and again nearing 9/10 months (the worst monster ever!!!)- left me feeling almost cripple, unable to drive and lifeless yet still having to look after a 2 yr old and 9 month old :s

Thalia had been having only one feed for about a month and a half now, just before bed, on the lounge we would sit listening to Daddy read to Declan while Thalia feasted away.......unlike Declan at the same age, Thalia grew attached to the (.)(.)'s and had names for them, giggled at them, had one way conversations with them and 'duddles'...such precious moments but 12months had come and gone and Mummy and Daddy thought it was time...

Friday night we got the gear out and had the last feed :( On Saturday night Thalia was looking for boobie, refusing the sippy cup and crying nearly breaking my heart with every tear but she fell asleep and smiled at me in the morning.....thankfully didn't hold a vendetta against me

Sunday night she was a bit better, had some sippy cup, read a book and had only a few tears, hardly cryed before bed!!!! yay

But tonight she glanced at the boobie (Declan and Thalia both preferred the left) and after a "no Thalia" in a kind Mummy voice started looking though the book chattering away with giggles, drinking from her sippy cup and enjoying it :) she said goodnight to Daddy and Declan got a Big Brother kiss and came with Mummy to sing twinkle twinkle and get tucked in with Miss Cat.

Well to Mummy's delight Thalia looked at Mummy with a massive smile, gave mummy big cuddles with her little voice "duddles" and asked for cat......with cat in hand she got all snug in bed and waved goodbye.....mummy just melted, it was as if Thalia had just said "Thank you Mummy for the boobie you have given me all this time and it's okay, I am ready to stop now and I love you!! our bond will never end"

All I can say is I am truly blessed to first of all have 2 beautiful children and secondly I am proud to say that I fed both of them the milky goodness which is breast milk!! I did it, Thank you God for such awesome gifts of life and an amazing experience of breastfeeding!!!

Last week I went and purchased some normal (not maternity/feeding bra's) bra's and undies to congratulate myself on this achievement, not to mention the need for bra's now my boobs have went back to their deflating characteristics :(

So now I have my first new bra's after 2 1/2 yrs of Motherhood....a time I will always cherish.

I'll leave you with a few pics I like:

Although I think breast is best and think that 'if breastfeeding offends you, put a blanket over your head'....I also understand sadly that through issues and troubles not every Mother can breastfeed....please fight the fight and look at the info, listen to the lactation consultants, ring ABA and seek support before you give up the fight...give it a good go I say, it's well worth it!!!!

In this painting, Saint Bernard prays to the Virgin Mary and asks her to "show that you are a Mother" at which point, the statue comes alive and squirts milk into Saint bernards mouth.
This miracle is sometimes called "the miracle of lactation"

Thalia's 1st Birthday Bash!!!!

My little baby girl is 1!!!!!!!
As the title suggests I have a very good excuse for not blogging for a little while, we have been busy planning a birthday bash and spending time with family, sorry to snob you all but really it's only a short time in the whole scheme of things :)
If it's any conciliation, I'm typing this while my much loved/most fave show is about to start (big 'HOUSE' fan) so I am using precious 'house' time on you guys :D ox
Needless to say this post won't be too long so I don't miss too much...LOL

Well I'll update you....Declan is going alot better with his potty training since we knuckled down a bit and although we have the odd accident he goes to the potty most of the time and sometimes without a fuss...yay finally!!!

My folks (the parents) arrived on Tuesday to spend a week and a half here with us :) so catching up and looking forward to their permanent move up, now that their house is on the market!!! it's all coming into place :D

Thalia's 1st birthday was Thursday just gone (4th Feb) and we held her Ladybug themed party at home yesterday and it was great :)
Here are a few pic of the recent goings on in the Offord house:




Thalia with her very first birthday present - a dolly named willow, has already become much loved and gets lots of 'duddles' ( translation is cuddles).
We are also celebrating the bit of hair length Thalia now has and have brought a few cute clips!
mummy's loving enjoying all the girly things :D




Thalia showing off her new Baltic amber teething necklace. I figure she is 1 and has no teeth whatsoever (:o i know) not that it stops her from eating anything...she will give anything a good suck, gnaw, chew.....the problem is she has been 'teething' since she was 5 months with nothing to show for it. The last week she has become more moody and often found sitting on mummy's lap with cold face cloth in mouth, gnawing on a frozen teething ring or just snapping at anyone and anything in her way!! I'm guessing she is going to be one of those babies who get a whole lot of teeth at once and any help a natural teething necklace will give us is very welcome :)
So hopefully happy teething days ahead and less drugs required.



all dressed up for her party and awaiting guests

such a daddy's girl!!!

the kids loot bags made by decorated by myself :)

The cake!!!! a lazy ladybird....we thought it very fitting for Thalia

they may be cute but they are a bit special...the female ones actually kill of the male ones after mating them..lol it is adorable though and we couldn't get past that

Mummy and daddy decorated it the night before the party with lots of serious lolly munching going on :D

the cupcakes!! bee's, dragon flys, butterflies, spider, caterpillars and baby ladybugs
the most time consuming of the lolly munching hours but worth it

Cake time at the party. Declan helped blow out the candles while Thalia just thought it would be cool to try and touch the flame!!! please note....no one was hurt

the wonderful presents thanks to all Thalia's friends and family- she is very lucky to have you all
It wouldn't have been such a good party without you all :D



Declan and Thalia grooving on the new foam letter mat :) love this pic

pure joy!!

So that's a wrap.....till next time

Big Trucks, Oz day and the posessed potty boy!

Trucks- big, noisy and you can put things in them...all that a little boy could want and Declan does exactly that!

We were very excited when Uncle Darren (my big bro) rang on Monday and let us know he was at Yatla Truck stop with Josh (my nephew) for a few hrs and could was keen for a catch up.

Mummy got all excited - quickly packed the lunches, nappies, drinks, dressed the munchkins and got all sorted to get in the car and see all the big trucks!! Declan was so excited all the way in the car repeating "Uncle Darren BIIIIGGGG TRUCK!!" all the way there.

It was all excitement until the car stopped and Darren himself opened Declan's car door to say hi..."Ahhhhhhh" (with added tears and trying to pull away)...to say the least Declan was not impressed while Thalia starts waving and yabbering away.

We calmed down a bit and went off to see the Big truck...Declan was so shy,tired,hungry, hot that the last thing he wanted to do was sit in a truck let alone Uncle Darren's truck..:( so he just cried and made mummy feel sorry for poor Uncle Darren who was looking forward to a "happy little boy"....Thalia was quick to fill in and jump up in the Big truck with Uncle Darren and pose for a few pics.

Josh ,Darren and Thalia chillin in the Big Truck :)
I don't think was too impressed when Darren demoted her to the passenger seat! lol

After some lunch, a play on the playground and a lot of crying and fussing Declan finally had some smiles and laughs and had a second look at the truck, although he didn't want to hop in he was happy to watch the lights,look at the red engine and receive a awesome Mustang matchbox car from Uncle Darren.

Well that was the bee's knees then...on the way home it didn't leave his little hand, he showed it the passing cars on the road, the shy, the hot sun and finally our house. He was not going down for his nap without his Mustang!! even to the point of saying "Mummy Mustang tired, needs bed" (then in a little voice made the Mustang snore as it swayed up and down in his hand...so cute!!)

Of course by this time Declan himself was so overtired and flopped into bed (car in hand) and slept soundly side by side.

You see Declan is one of those children who scream his lungs out when he sees Santa, but after it's all over and Santa is out of sight he becomes the highlight of the week...very odd but that's children for you....that afternoon he proudly told Daddy how he saw Uncle Darren's truck as if it was the best experience ever while mummy sighed quietly thinking if only!

Declan giving his new mustang a massive cuddle after arriving home :)

We had a fun filled Oz day at the Newcombe's (Wayne and Louise's) with friends...bush bashing, drinking, good food, children playing, swimming in the pool and all that was promised...the heat wasn't so good but alot of fun was had.
I was just a little shocked when my husband came up from the car track (a big paddock with alot of trees!!) looking like he had just come out of an explosion zone....he was unharmed but covered and I mean covered in black and brown dust...how delightful!! :s but like any man all he could talk about was how he managed to get the car to do a 180/ big skid/lots of smoke ...you know the lingo :P
Of course I forgot my camera so don't have any photo's to show for a good Australia day but thanks to all those you made it a memorable one.....great to see all the munchkins playing

Warning : the following content may speak of bodily fluids and/or waste of the toddler kind :P
Read on if you can take it.

Today after a talk to Daddy it was decided that we are going to knuckle down with the toilet training...Declan has been potty sitting since roughly September/October now and although he is good at telling us before a #2 and usually getting it in the potty or big toilet he is not so good when it comes to wees!!
He is in Big boy undies during the day unless we go out shopping, friends houses etc and nappies for naps and through the night. He know exactly what is expected of him and understands that it is wrong to wee on the floor but still has alot of accidents and wet undies, telling us after the fact what has happened instead of letting us know he needs the potty.
We are exhausted emotionally, sick of cleaning up the mess and annoyed that everything we try isn't helping....stuck in a rut. Mummy today with the help of lots of cuppa's and a calmed mind started to focus on helping Declan "get it"...I am proud to say that we had two wees in the potty today, no wet undies, no accidents. He did wake up with a poo in his nappy but that's okay.
I think he was holding in wees a bit but it's a start hey.
I just know I'm going to be insane before long if this goes on for too much longer....at times I think Thalia might be tt before him!! lol well I will see what tomorrow brings.
Stay calm, stay positive and have fun...it's harder than it sounds.
Any tips from the parents out there would be welcomed !!!!

wish us luck!!

Our fun packed weekend

A busy one but a fun one!!!

weekends...so odd how you look forward to them every week, organise what to do, then by the time Friday comes you barely blink twice and it's Sunday night.
Well this was one of those weekends but we have done alot this weekend and can treasure lots of memories with friends.

Friday was an rdo for Andy so we made the most of it and got out to the shops (by passed the pet shop for the usual tour) and got some odds and ends at various shops while Declan ooooed and aaahhhhhed at all the lights and Thalia chowed down on the must have finger foods while chillin in the pram.

Friday afternoon/night we had the privilege of having some fab friends over ..namely "the Hanlon crew" (we used to live in Hanlon st) so it was a good catch up.
Bestie Austin enjoyed a good play with Declan and Thalia, before sitting down for a dinner, sharing a bath and down for bed.
The kids went to bed and the night began...had a lovely BBQ with Jim, Kim, Ryan and Kirsten while Lucky (baby burrow # 2) had a roller coaster ride in mummies tummy. I laughed so much that my belly hurt and I think just about every one cryed tears of laughter as Ryan continued on his way of joke/story telling...it was later agreed that if Kim was having any troubles in late pregnancy in regards to labour starting that Ryan would assist by telling her a few yarns to get it all happening :D
...I really thought Kim was going to pop out a baby then and there with all the excitement!!! :O
Sadly don't have any pics of the night as my camera batteries were needing to be charged :(

Saturday was even more busy...with a visit from Matt, Stu, Rach and their gorgeous girls Jasmine and Emily in the morning- the kids enjoyed playing with play dough and dinosaurs while picking at lunch while the big people had a much needed catch up.
All the kiddies went down for a nap and Matt was fare welled, lunch was eaten and the parents had a bit of chat time while we packed to go to Phoebe's 3rd Birthday party in the afternoon.
Stu, Rach and the girls said there goodbyes and got on the road and we got organised for the party.

Finally the camera batteries where charged!! hooray for the pathological picture taker :P

Declan was so excited to be going to a party, but even more so because Phoebe was having a dinosaur party (the latest Declan craze). I might add that Phoebe is a little girl from church that Andy's Grandma (93yrs) has decided will in future be Declan wife!! lol
All the way in the car we listened to the little singing voice of Declan singing dinosaur tunes as Thalia made her best attempt to join in.

The party was awesome, great cake, jumping castle, water play, drawing, land before time dvd, the all important toy's, a cubby and the best of all lots of little friends.

Cake time :D

Thalia had her very first turn on a jumping castle..(very fitting we thought for the princess to be in a castle at last) and Declan loved the water play and becam e very quickly obsessed with the cubby door ..open,shut,open ,shut..
It was quite funny when a boy perhaps a little older than Declan became attached to Thalia and wanting dearly to "put baby in cot" ,when he saw that Phoebes cubby contained a little cot for a doll...after much explaining that Thalia didn't want to sleep and she was a bit big for the cot he went up to Thalia's daddy and asked "you in the cot!!" bahahaha gotta love it.

After much fun, food and shrieks and squeals we parted ways and journeyed home for a quick dinner and bed.
Mummy and Daddy enjoyed a quiet night in with a few drinks..ahhh

Sunday Morning arrived and the usual everyone in Mummy and Daddy's bed for cuddles -well that's the idea but it soon changes to Thalia crawling over everyone giving the raspberry's, Declan attempting to read a story, lots of tickle and excitement, not the nice rest time that was intended by Mummy and Daddy :P

Declan decided that the dinosaurs wanted to play play dough again so off he went and the rush began to get ready for church. We trialed staying in the big hall today while at church and not the "cry room" that we usually attire to simply because of the volume of Noise coming from the Madame.
It actually went well..Phoebe and Declan played dinosaurs under the chairs while the meeting was on, Thalia ate and ate and it was only at the end that Daddy had to take Thalia outside when she got a bit loud.
We caught up with Great Grandma who was delighted to hear Declan had been to Phoebes party...ha ha her plans for their future are all coming into place :)

Our arrival home welcomed putting the kids to bed while we enjoyed lunch before having a Nana nap of our own....then after everyone's nap,watching Thalia's fave dvd (wiggles) we decided to have a paint...such fun!!!
Thalia found out that paint wasn't all that tasty and Declan carefully made his many creations- with "more paper" sounding every couple of minutes.

Thalia painting, tasting and practicing putting on makeup :D


Declan (the master) hard at work


Home made spag Bol for dinner and a bath for the munchkins and dinosaurs of course :P and at last bed. A much relieved Mummy and Daddy are now having some chill out time with beer in hand :D
Bath time: Declan washing one of the dinosaurs and Thalia playing peek-a-boo with daddy

What a weekend!! so thankful that we can have times like these with friends, looking forward to Australia day public holiday and fun at Wayne and Louise's
- bush bashing, chatting, drinking, good food, good company, watching the kids play, catching up with Duke (our old pet Labrador) and simply lapping it up!

Gentle Dragon Boy and the Fiery Fairy Girl

....I may be drinking a glass of red and it may seem as though I'm a tad muddled but I assure you that I have just described my children in a nut shell.
In this circumstance I had to switch the common qualities of Dragons and Fairy's to fit the picture.

Since Thalia was born there have been moments of "ahhh just like Declan used to do :)" but this has been a rare comment. In the last week I have really noticed how much they are such different little personalities with almost opposite qualities.
Now that the Madame has started to crawl around, it had become evident how big the gap of difference is and yet at the same time how grand there love for each other is.

As the title suggests Declan being the older of the two is obsessed with dragons along side death knights (and all things WOW thanks to Daddy), lizards, dinosaurs, trucks, cars and all things manly even to the point of having a imaginary friend that is a Dragon.
Mr Dragon as he is called comes everywhere with us, has his own voice, lives down the bottom of the stairs in our backyard (actually moved houses with us, Declan did the honour of giving him the tour of the new house!), he changes colour every day ....the point is that he is as boyish as it comes yet underneath not fiery as a dragon but ohh so gentle (which is such a blessing when having a second child so close!).
Ever since I can remember he does most things in a delicate manner- eating his first finger foods by carefully pinching between thumb and finger (the same class that is shown in a high tea), a neat freak to the enth degree, running on tip toes, dancing and showing rhythmic qualities at such an early age, oh and the funniest being his reaction when seeing other babies/toddlers eating their food in a manner by which a Cave man might sit and feast on a carcass...his pure shock is priceless (memories of sharing meals with his bestie Austin come to mind..lol).
He is just ohh so gentle (don't get me wrong, he has his moments of strife, brutality and mess) and loves his sister always flooding her with kisses and cuddles.
His latest thing to say .."just Thalia mummy!!!" input sad face and shattered voice here is said when he is playing or just woken up and has realised that Thalia is in bed and he can't play with her- Mummy can try to sway this thought with any activity, food, drink, dvd but all attempts are usually fronted with "just Thalia Mummy!!!"
if you have ever had the privilege of meeting my gentle prince then you will know that at the first meeting he will cry, cling to a parent, run away, lye on the floor face down and be shy as shy until about the half hr mark (or sooner if your a good playmate :D)- once he considers you one of the accepted ones you will be rewarded with a friendly greeting on the next meeting...and perhaps become as obsession for a short time as Uncle Wayne seems to be at the moment.

Then on a very different level of madness is our Princess Thalia- The Fiery Fairy
She came to this world very quickly and mummy didn't even have much time to even think about pushing- stubborn little thing from the start and we were not met with a cuddly baby but a screaming bundle (even so it was love at first sight).
After she had been dressed to the nines and promptly breastfeed and comforted she still didn't see it fit to sleep till a good 6 or so hrs later....don't they tell you newborns are sleepy little things!!!
Thalia from the start does things in her own time and continues too.
As she grew and grew and grew (much bigger baby than the long stick of her brother) she became her own little being and continues to show her true personality.
She is the Cutest of Cute, big blue eyes and white blonde hair like her brother, loves her dolls and fairy's (although she is very fond of all things boyish) and to any outsider would look the picture of a gentle Fairy/angel from a magical place far away- well she does look the part but I think once you have heard the shreaks of displeasure, screams, the repeated sounds of that N.O. word, her demands made clear through speech and sign language, the cry that could break a thousand windows if she put her mind to it ...you might just realise the reality that your former thought is a big fat mistake.
She is The Drama Queen, Madame of all things food, Mistress of all toys and Stubborn is her official 3rd name -according to Thalia anyway.
We love her to bits and she also loves her brother- although he does get the serve with her verbal storms and sometimes gets crawled on and prodded, torchered and poked similar to that that a bird of prey would dish out.
At this point of time it looks as though she will always be the messy one, the leader of mischief, one to push the boundaries (not looking forward to teen yrs!!!), the bubbly extrovert ready for anything and forever a Princess in her morphed world of Madness.
She loves the boobie- has even named them and as Declan speaks to Mr Dragon, Thalia has long conversations with the boobies...laughs at them, pokes them so the milk will flow so she can watch it trickle and when she is ready (and only when she is ready) will she latch on and enjoy the bliss that is Mummy Milk.
Thalia's form of Time has extended to how she physically matures.....at just shy of 1 yr she has No teeth (that's right a big 0 in the teeth department), started the teething saga at 3-4months and no signs to tell of the long and painful tale. Only a couple of weeks ago she decided it was the right time to crawl, before that it was just fun to sit back while Declan fetched the toys for her, sat back while mummy prepared the feasts,listened to daddy melt over her with joy (his little darling) and enjoy the ride whether it be by arm, pram, highchair, trolley,lap she soaked it up.
Now that she can crawl Declan cannot escape her and she is loving it....all in good time mummy!
Just a few days ago she decided she might try to start tugging on nappies and see how they undo :o...mummy now makes sure she has shorts, all in ones or a sleeping bag at bed to prevent the pooing cot blog from appearing...ewwwhhhhh
At a first meeting with Thalia you might expect a cheeky laugh, a poke in the eye or mouth (whichever she sees fit), a kiss, an evil chuckle, a big "NO!!!", a snatch at your food or a sly grin- all of which are never shy but in your face in a package of pure prettiness, she has charm but she's a fiery one....watch out boys, here she comes!!

My children- they are worlds apart and I could type about them for hrs but alas I fear I have lost most of my readers quite a few minutes ago, if you got this far you deserve a medal :D
I love them both dearly, each of them with exquisite features and wants...how very blessed am I!!!